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Mallory Niehaus scored 12 of her 17 points in the second half, and the Vincennes Rivet Lady Patriots held off a furious charge from the Turkey Run Lady Warriors to win the Class A state title, 49-40, on Saturday at Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne.

Niehaus, who had nine rebounds to go with her game-high point total, was one of six Rivet seniors competing in their third consecutive state championship game. Fellow senior Casandra Brocksmith was the only other Lady Patriots player in double figures, with 11 points.

The state championship is the first in school history for Vincennes Rivet, and completes an undefeated, 28-0 season for Tim Young’s team who also became the first Class A team to finish a season without a loss. The Lady Patriots, who also defeated Turkey Run, 46-38, during the regular season, lost to Fort Wayne Canterbury in the Class A state championship games in 2009 and 2010.

Despite trailing by as many as 11 points midway through the third quarter, Turkey Run pulled within one on three different occasions in the final period, and even had a free throw to tie the game with 4:31 to play. Shelby Davies led the Lady Warriors with 14 points and 6 rebounds, and also held Rivet’s sharp-shooting senior, Sara Young, to just two points in the game. Chelsea Newnum also chipped in 11 points for Turkey Run.

The Lady Warriors were making their first appearance in the girls basketball state finals, and finish the season with a record of 24-3 for first-year head coach Jeff Thompson.

Turkey Run’s Shelby Daviess Named Mental Attitude Award Winner
Following the game, members of the IHSAA Executive Committee named Shelby Davies of Turkey Run High School as the winner of the Patricia L. Roy Mental Attitude Award in Class A Girls Basketball.

The award is presented annually to a senior participant in each classification who was nominated by her principal and coach and has demonstrated excellence in mental attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability.

Davies ranks first in her senior class of 46 students at the Parke County school. She currently serves as President of the school’s Executive Council, was Vice President last year and also has served as Class President each year of high school.

She is a member of the National Honor Society and has received various academic excellence awards in English, History and Spanish. Davies intends to major in English at Purdue University beginning next fall.

She has helped Turkey Run to four sectional championships, two regional crowns, and its first semi-state title this season. In addition to basketball, she was a member of the Warriors’ volleyball team for four years as well.

She is the daughter of William Davies of Bloomingdale.

Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, the IHSAA’s corporate partner, will present a $1,000 scholarship to Turkey Run High School in the name of Davies.

The award is named in honor of the former IHSAA assistant commissioner Patricia L. Roy, who oversaw the girls basketball state tournament from its inception in 1976 until her retirement in 1999.

Class A State Championship Game Quotes

Vincennes Rivet Coach Tim Young
“Everybody expected us to be here again. To finish a perfect season is unbelievable.  It’s pretty emotional to be with this group this long and go out on top - it’s pretty special.”

“Defense was the difference this year.  We have gotten beat the last two years by Fort Wayne Canterbury and we felt our half-court defense was the reason we got beat.  We’ve won throughout this tournament with a good half-court defense.”

“It’s pretty tough losing on this stage.  I came in this week vowing not to over-coach and let the ladies enjoy the event.  My job was to keep them motivated and focused.”

“We knew that Turkey Run’s defense would anytime we penetrated that their big player were going to stop the basketball.  We had a lot of confidence Mallory [Niehaus] shooting that short jump shot on the baseline.  We told her that was what she was going to have to do today.”

Turkey Run Coach Jeff Thompson
“I thought the game hinged a lot on their [Rivet’s] ability to get to the free throw line.  You’re not going to win too many games when you are outscored 17-1 at the free throw line.  Rivet is very good at getting into the lane, creating contact, and knocking down free throws.  We just struggled to get to the line ourselves.  When we did get there we struggled to knock them down.”

“I thought we played right with them, we shot the ball from three well, and overall were 18 of 39 and that’s pretty good.  But we cannot give up that many points at the stripe.”

(On the comeback) “I thought it was important for us to take the lead.  We got close but never got there.  If we took the lead it would help us confidence-wise and put seeds of doubt in their [Rivet’s] mind, but they responded well to the “momentum.”

(On Rivet’s experience) “I’ve told the girls all week that it’s just a ball game, it doesn’t matter where we play it.”